Starting to circulate among collectors is a new, free 24 disc set of Beatles material from BBC Radio. The set is designed to accompany Kevin Howlett's book The Beatles: The BBC Archives 1962-1970. Each disc can be stored in a separate case, or they can be placed in slim cases and housed in the box intended for the book. They will fit in the UK box, not in the US one, because that box was a bit smaller.In the book boxThe set includes every known surviving BBC radio music and interview appearance from 1962-1970, plus guest appearances by other acts, and (as bonus items) interviews with those involved in the sessions.

The sessions are arranged chronologically, with several Special Editions including the complete 5th birthday Saturday Club, The Beatles Abroad, all of the group's appearances on the Top Of The Pops radio series up to 1970, the BBC Beatles Night in December 1963, and even a DVD of their surviving BBC TV appearances.

All tracks have been pulled from the best possible sources including original transcription discs and tapes. Dropouts, mains hum and other annoyances have been carefully removed. Noise reduction has not been used, although some sources had noise reduction burned in. Early fades have all been fixed where possible. This has been a huge undertaking, which I am sure the people behind it have spent years of research and audio enhancement work. A number of upgrades are included, plus some previously unheard guest appearances. And as a special bonus, a selection of never before heard continuity from the Light Program and Home Service is included, giving a bird's eye view into the hilariously stuffy state of British radio in the early 1960s.

The makers of this amazing collection are not doing it for profit, but because they feel all of The Beatles BBC material should be out there for fans to enjoy and historians to scrutinise. In fact, the set is distributed as free download links, and the people behind it are is are encouraging the fans to continue to distribute this set freely before it gets picked up and distributed for profit by the real bootleggers. They are also encouraging everyone to buy Kevin Howlett's book, not only to get the box to house the collection, but also because it's a vital piece of the BBC puzzle and will enable everyone to put the audio discs into context. They are also asking people to support the artist and buy the official BBC albums. As they say: This is a fan project, not a bootleg. Don't charge money for copies.

Volume 1If you have any of the previous releases of the material, like the one from Purple Chick (an earlier non-profit Beatles BBC project), this is a huge update, both regarding upgrades of songs and chat as well as newly unearthed material. And if you have managed to get hold of the 2010 "Unsurpassed Broadcasts" series, this one surpasses it, both in volume and because it contains material that has been found since then. Doug Sulpy calls this set "core" in his latest issue of The 910, in fact he even says that it's too comprehensive! The one thing is, if you want discs, you have to burn them yourself, and the same goes for the artwork, you'll have to print it out.

Some great sessions here. John turns in a completely mental performance of Twist And Shout at the Albert Hall, Paul gets to unleash Long Tall Sally on the unsuspecting millions, an orphaned Lennon-McCartney composition has its one and only airing, and listeners are able to tune into The Beatles' own radio series for the first time. Also some recollections from George Harrison and Terry Henebery, who don't quite see eye to eye on some matters.

Mostly Pop Go The Beatles this time. Music and chat for episodes 2 and 3 was pre-recorded the same day (with ep3 first), but there are indicators here that like many BBC shows the actual broadcast was a mixture of session tapes and live links. In episode 3, Lee Peters apologises for having gotten Ringo's birthday wrong in episode 2 and mentions fans writing in to correct him, something that obviously could not happen if both shows were completely pre-recorded. This happens at other times in the series too. It might also explain why when the series was aired on the World Service in 1964, new narration needed to be provided by another announcer.

While Lee Peters proves to be quite witty, he makes a few snide remarks here and there which makes one wonder whether The Beatles had him booted out and replaced in the next series. In a later volume Paul relates a story about how they arrived at the studio early one day to find the staff all listening to jazz in the control room. So there may have been a bit of jazz snobbery going on.

A few guest appearances by other artists show just how far removed The Beatles were from their contemporaries at this time. An unintentionally funny moment comes when Carter Lewis is obliged to omit the word "damn" from the line "I don't give a damn about a greenback dollar", such was the BBC's stuffiness. For those of a rigid moral nature, more sustenance can be found in track 57.

.....all of which goes to show how measly the pickings have been over the years on the official releases.

Two things:

1. This is really only going to appeal to existing fans.

The Beatles circa 2015 are almost invisible to the average Joe on the street. I certainly NEVER see the group's CDs in my local supermarket, and in record shops other artists' releases are currently much better value (e.g. The Kinks, The Who, Captain Beefheart, Bob Dylan, Dusty Springfield). The Kinks' "Arthur" 2-CD set is £5, The Beatles' CDs start at £10 and have no extras.

2. I think you can have too much music.....and I think this is too much music.

First you say that the pickings over the years have been measly. Then you say this is too much music. I don't get your point.

Of course this is only going to appeal to existing fans. Nothing in this that is interesting for new fans to discover. The question is: is that important? There are thousands of existing Beatlesfans all over the world. I'd like to give the existing Beatlesfans of this forum, member or not, the opportunity to get their hands on a series they might like. And it's free: now there's your value for money.

The official pickings over the years HAVE been measly.....who on earth wouldn't agree with that?'1', 'Love', 'Let It Be...Naked', 'Yellow Submarine', 'Reel Music', '20 Greatest Hits'.....yikes! I'd say there have been only two wholly successful releases since 1970, namely the two BBC sets.

And yet having absolutely everything in one huge splurge IS too much, in the way that sitting at home devouring ten 'seasons' of a cop show in one sitting is too much. Way too much. I doubt anyone will listen to any one of these CDs more than twice.

But actually the great pity is that Apple haven't released all of this over a 'sustained' period of time (see the Dylan Bootleg Series model - THAT'S how to do it - they've got it down to a fine art).....bearing in mind that CDs have been around for over 30 years now.

If they'd done that, they'd have cultivated new fans rather than just the existing ones (a small number I suspect) who'll like this.

One positive is that it might prompt Apple to release a 'Live at the BBC' Volume 3 though.

I think all the BBC stuff released in the recent years was never meant to attract new Beatlesfans. And why should it?

I wasn't planning to burn this total thing on disc at all by the way. What I will be doing is put it all on the mp3-player and listen to it all when I'm working out. I don't care what Apples plans are. A volume 3 or 4 or 5? It really doesn't matter to me, I won't be buying it when I can have all this for free. Yes, it is a lot, but I hope to be alive for some more time to listen to it all.

Some great performances here. Presented for the first time is a near-complete version what is widely regarded as their best ever BBC appearance, that for PGTB episode 5. Included is a cracking guest appearance from keyboard virtuoso Graham Bond, with Ginger Baker (later of Cream) on drums. It's interesting to compare their BBC versions of I Got A Woman and I Saw Her Standing There to The Beatles, a world apart but each with their own merits. The embryonic R&B scene would soon explode into public awareness so it's cool to see Merseybeat and R&B alongside each other at this early stage. PGTB 5 also marks Rodney Burke's debut as announcer, but he seems to think the audience was mostly under 5s.

At the end of the disc Paul and Ringo share some interesting recollections about the sessions.

That's fine, Bobber, but not caring what Apple do is a strange stand to take.

All this, if planned with some forethought (see 'Bootleg Series') could have been released, methodically, years ago and.....and this is what I really don't get.....they could have made a lot more money doing it.

What's 'working out' and, if it's what I think it is, why don't you just sit down and listen to it?!

Nothing but Pop Go The Beatles this time. Incredibly three of these sessions were recorded in one go - July 16th - which blows away their previous effort of recording the Please Please Me album in one day. A consequence of this is that they recorded very little chat that day and shows 9 and 10 have no Beatle chat at all, prompting indignant letters from listeners. Once again there are indications that Rodney Burke's links were actually live - during track 53 he mentions many people writing in to request She Loves You, which had not yet been released on July 16th.

The complete guest appearance by Russ Sainty exists, but only two of his numbers would fit on this disc. The other three are contained in a separate folder. If you are not burning to disc then simply copy these into the main folder. This is one of only two shows (the other being 5) for which we have almost the entire half hour.

Countless minor cosmetic repairs have been made as usual but I won't go into these, suffice to say that if I've done my job properly you shouldn't notice anything. I will just comment that Long Tall Sally is the unedited version - on the official release there are some notes edited during the first guitar solo.

That's fine, Bobber, but not caring what Apple do is a strange stand to take.

Like you, I haven't been impressed with the Apple output in the last decades. I think I have almost everything I want from The Beatles. A nice surprise here and there is of course greatly appreciated. I was already disappointed with the second BBC album they put out, adding nothing to what I already had. Now if there was any Beatles cd that did not get out of its sleeve after the first spin, it's this one.

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What's 'working out' and, if it's what I think it is, why don't you just sit down and listen to it?!

I like to listen to music when I'm training. I hate training but it's necessary to keep my body in shape after a nasty fall two years ago.

It didn't have as many 'new' songs on it but, if there's room for a 24 CD, set I'd argue there's more than enough room for the paltry two 2-CD sets that have been officially released. That accounts for only one-sixth of the BBC recordings.